PRESS RELEASE
OONA KING MP TO VISIT NATIONAL CHARITY’S TRAINING CENTRE

5 March 2004

Oona King MP to visit national charity’s training centre
On Friday 5 March at 1.15 pm Oona King MP will visit the Karten Centre of national disability charity Shaw Trust at its South East regional offices in Wapping, East London. Based at St Peter’s Centre, Reardon Street E1, The Shaw Trust Karten Centre is part of a network of centres throughout the country, funded by the Ian Karten Charitable Trust, Learning and Skills Council and the European Social Fund. They provide IT training for local disabled and disadvantaged people, and are specifically equipped with adaptive technology to increase access to training. Shaw Trust provides training and work opportunities for over 20,000 disabled and disadvantaged people in the UK each year; it has over 200 projects across the UK and employs over 1000 staff.

Ms King will see for herself the state-of-the-art facilities and meet with unemployed disabled people receiving specialised training and support, to talk about the barriers they face when looking for training and work. From its base in Wapping the Trust is able to deliver a range of training necessary to support local disabled people into work. Depending on the needs of each individual, the training support can include accredited IT, desktop publishing and Internet training and job search through such programmes as WORKSTEP and New Deal for Disabled People.

Oona King MP said, "Balancing your job with the rest of your life is really difficult for all of us but people with disabilities face many extra challenges and having worthwhile and meaningful work can make all the difference to someone's self confidence. I'm delighted to see the hard work that Shaw Trust offers in supporting people in my constituency and assisting them with finding the right job as we all know that looking for work is never easy.”

Shafraz Nizam, Shaw Trust IT Trainer says “We’re delighted to have Ms King visit our IT training centre. When people come here they have little or no experience of computers but through Shaw Trust they gain accredited training either in small groups or one to one. We also have work experience placements for people to test their new skills and this is invaluable when looking for work”.

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OONA KING MP TO VISIT NATIONAL CHARITY’S TRAINING CENTRE

Notes to Editors:

1. Photo-opportunity: Oona King MP, Shafraz Nizam and Shaw Trust clients will be available for a photo-opportunity at 1.15pm on Friday 5 March 04.

2. St Peter’s Community Centre is the South East regional office for Shaw Trust. In addition, a number of other projects operate from the centre; work preparation and training for young people, Asian women, those going into open employment and workstep; training of key skills plus the Karten Centre, a state-of-the-art IT training facility; the internet café. St Peter’s Centre is operated as a social firm. St Peter’s Community Centre, Reardon Street, Wapping, London E1W 2QH Tel: 0207 977 6817 Fax: 0207 977 6816 Email: southern.region@shaw-trust.org.uk

3. Accredited IT training delivered at the centre includes OCR, Oxford, Cambridge and Royal Society of Arts; COMPTIA; BCS, British Computer Society and CIW, Certified Internet Web-Master.

4. Shaw Trust is a major provider of services under the UK Governments’ New Deal and Welfare to Work agenda.

5. Shaw Trust is a national charity that provides training and work opportunities for people disadvantaged in the labour market through disability, long-term ill-health or other social circumstances. With a network of over 1000 staff and 200 projects throughout the UK, the Trust provides opportunities for over 20,000 people each year. www.shaw-trust.org.uk

6. For general media enquiries, please contact; Tracey Proudlock, Political Affairs Manager on 07974 708024 or email tracey.proudlock@shaw-trust.org.uk .